


Defenders of the Wing, Part 2

by Spinofflady



Series: Race to the Edge [1]
Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: Defenders of the Wing, Gen, Race To The Edge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-16
Updated: 2016-08-18
Packaged: 2018-08-09 04:35:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,188
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7786984
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spinofflady/pseuds/Spinofflady
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“But first, Hiccup, I’m going to kill you myself.”</p><p>Hiccup stared down the blade, following the sharp edge all the way up to Mala’s even sharper glare. If looks could kill, she would have slaughtered him and cut his body into a million pieces. He attempted to swallow the ever growing lump in his throat. He had never expected to die after being accused of helping the Dragon Hunters.</p><p>And yet here he was...just his luck.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“But first, Hiccup, I’m going kill you myself.”

Hiccup stared down the blade, following the sharp edge all the way up to Mala’s even sharper glare. If looks could kill, she would have slaughtered him and cut his body into a million pieces. He attempted to swallow the ever growing lump in his throat. He had never expected to die after being accused of helping the Dragon Hunters.

“Mala, you don’t have to do this,” he started, backing away from the sword. “We can help you find the Eruptadon. Our dragons can track for-”

“Silence!” Mala shouted, making him jump. “I never asked for your help!”

“I know. I was simply offering it.”

Mala pushed the sword closer to his neck. “I would be careful you say. They might end up as you last words.”

What could he say? Was there anything he could do to prove that they were not spies? Viggo had thought this through too well. He had framed them all too easily. He glanced behind him at Astrid, finding a sword to her throat as well. She never spoke a word, but the angry glare she gave Throck spoke more than a thousand words.

“Confess to what you are,” Mala demanded, “and perhaps I will spare your friends.”

“How can I make you understand?” Hiccup pleaded desperately. “We are not-”

“Confess!”

“We are not spies! That’s the truth!”

A wicked smile grew over Mala’s face. “Yes, it is true, isn’t it? Not all of you are spies. But one of you is. I told you to confess, and you spoke for everyone. You are the spy.”

Hiccup realized that Mala was right. He had answered for all of them; he had implied that they were not spies collectively, but never personally. It was all coming together now. Mala played with words to make them mean what she wanted them to. While Viggo twisted minds, Mala twisted words. The only way to get out of this mess was to fight fire with fire, or in this case, words with words.

“Alright,” he sighed, hanging his head. “I see I cannot hide it from you. I am the spy.”

“He’s lying!” Astrid shouted suddenly.

Hiccup inwardly groaned. Astrid was going to ruin his plan.

“I’m the spy,” she went on. “He’s lying because he’s a coward. He’s no spy. I was sent to spy on him.”

Hiccup fought the urge to smile. Instead of ruining his plan, Astrid had figured it out and started to go along with it. That was one of the many things he loved about her. She was quick, in more ways than one.

“Well, some spy you turned out to be,” he practically laughed. “If you were a real spy like you said, you would have figured out that I was a spy.”

“That’s exactly why I am a wonderful spy. You had no earthly idea I was on to you.”

Mala’s sword never moved, but her glare had softened and she glanced back and forth between the two. “One of you is lying,” she said smugly. “And I intend to find out who it is.”

“They’re both lying,” Heather jumped in. “If they are spies, they wouldn’t have told you, let alone one another. But then again, lying is what spies do best, so maybe they are both spies.”

Hiccup jumped on the lead Heather had given them. “She’s right. Lying is what spies do best. She’s lying right now.”

“I might be lying,” Heather answered. “I might not. You might be spies, you might not. I know which one of us is the spy, and I will tell you, if you care to know.”

“Go on,” Mala lowered her sword and narrowed her gaze at Heather.

“He’s the spy,” Heather announced, pointing at Tuffnut.

“No I’m not!” Tuffnut shouted back. “I hate spies. I would never stoop low enough to join their spy…ness. If anyone is a spy, it’s Hiccup. Why else would he not want me to be his attorney? He was afraid of getting caught. It pains me to admit that he has betrayed us all, but my experience in law and court show that he cannot be trusted.”

“Besides,” Ruffnut put in, “Hiccup is a terrible, t-e-r-i-b-u-l, terrible, liar. He’s telling the truth.”

Hiccup couldn’t believe that the twins had actually helped. Of course, they had no idea that they were being useful, but they most certainly had Mala confused. Now he had to figure out how to cover what Tuffnut had just spouted off.

Astrid came to his rescue. “That’s exactly why he isn’t a spy. All spies are good liars, and Hiccup can’t lie to save his life. He is not a spy, like I told you.”

“Enough of this!” Mala bellowed, her eyes flashing. “I demand to know who the spy, or spies, for that matter, is. Speak now, or you all die.”

No one said a word.

“Answer me!”

“We’re not telling you anything!” Snotlout shouted, only gaining a painful slap from one of the guards.

“Answer the Queen,” Thock instructed forcefully, pushing his sword into Astrid’s neck slightly harder.

“In about five minutes there won’t be anyone to answer to,” Hiccup said urgently, suddenly noticed how high the Lava had gotten. “You and your village is about to be destroyed. If I were you, I would stop interrogating us and try to free the Eruptadon. Viggo and his men couldn’t have gotten far. Let us go after him.”

“No!” Mala snarled back. “You only want to get away from here. You won’t help us.”

“We have no interest in running away. We want your help. We aren’t strong enough to defeat Viggo on our own. We need you, and you clearly need us.”

“I chose to trust you once; I will not make the same mistake again!”

“Your Highness,” Thock called, an edge in his tone, “The Volcano!”

Mala glanced behind her, her eyes widening at the sight of the bubbling lava, now at the top of the crater. The largest bubbles burst, spewing small drops of molten rock into the air. The heat was beginning to grow unbearable.

The other warriors backed away from the ever growing danger, leaving their prisoners unguarded. Only Throck and Mala remained where they were.

“You need to make a choice now, Mala,” Hiccup urged. “We can help you save your people; you just need to give us a chance.”

“I gave you a chance! And you betrayed us all!”

“Don’t you get it?!” Astrid shouted above the roar of the volcano. “We were framed! Viggo set us up! He’s afraid that if we work together, we could defeat him. We need an army, and you need Dragon Riders. We are not spies, Mala! We may look suspicious, but you have to ask yourself, would Viggo really risk losing all our dragons along with us, just to steal the Eruptadon?”

Mala seemed to realize that if she wanted to save her people, they were the only chance she had. They could see her weighing out her options, but time was short. The lava was beginning to gurgle over the edge of the crater, and the ground was vibrating under their feet.  
  
“If you have a plan ‘B’,” Astrid whispered to him, “now might be a really good time to go with it.”

“I didn’t really have a plan ‘A’,” he hissed back, trying to read Mala’s stone expression.

“Release them!” The woman suddenly shouted. “They are our last chance!”

Hiccup honestly couldn’t believe they had gotten out of that predicament, but he certainly wasn’t going to complain. He jumped on Toothless, making sure the other Rider’s had made it to their mounts.

“Snotlout! Fishlegs! Get everyone out of here!” He shouted as Toothless took to the air. “Ruff! Tuff! Make a trench in front the lava! We have to delay it from reaching the village! All of you, catch up when you’re done! Astrid! Heather! You and I will go after the Hunters. We need the Eruptadon.”

He caught sight of Mala watching them as they flew off, and he could tell she did not trust them at all. This was their very last chance to create an alliance with the Defenders of the Wing. If he failed, and Viggo got his hands on their “Great Protector,”all would be lost. The three dragons dodged a few sea stacks.

“Better keep our eyes peeled,” He called to Astrid and Heather. “These sea stacks would be easy to hide behind!”

“But just as easy for us to hide behind, too,” Astrid called back. “They will be expecting us. They will most likely be in open water, where they can get a clean shot.”

Hiccup nodded. “Good thinking!” he shouted to her, smiling. This was why they made such a good team. What he missed, she saw. What she didn’t quite catch, he noticed completely. He couldn’t imagine doing any of this without her.

“Hiccup!” Astrid’s voice was hushed and urgent. She pointed up at a few ships, clearly marked with the Dragon Hunter crest.

Hiccup nodded again, letting her know he saw it as well. A plan formed in his mind. He told her to circle around and cover him when he gave a direct attack, using the hand signals they had put together years before.

She gave him a nod and circled back, staying low; allowing the Hunters to think Hiccup was the only one who followed them. Heather followed her, catching onto Hiccup’s plan.  
Hiccup quickly approached the battleships, and as he expected, they were ready for him. What did not expect to see, was Ryker.

“Fire!” Ryker shouted when he came into range. A cloud of arrows met them in mid air, and one on them pierced the thick leather guard on his right shoulder. It only pricked the skin, but he could feel the cloth underneath becoming soggy with blood.

Toothless fired back, solidly hitting the main mast, and the wooden shaft split and fell sideways. The archers reloaded, but were not quick enough. Astrid and Heather flew in from behind, blasting the vessel to bits.

Hiccup turned his fire on Ryker’s ship, assuming that he would be guarding the Eruptadon himself. An explosion sounded from behind him. He glanced back to see Snotlout and the twins destroying the other ship. This last ship was all that stood between them and the Eruptadon.

“Combine your fire!” he shouted, aiming at the ship. It surprised him that Ryker wasn’t doing more to fight back, but again, he wasn’t complaining. With the fire power of six dragons, the deck gave way almost instantly, but the Eruptadon was nowhere to be seen.

“Where is it!?” Heather shouted, mostly to Ryker.

“Certainly not here!” Ryker laughed. “You didn’t really think it would be in the first place you looked, did you?”

“How could I have been so stupid!” Hiccup groaned to himself. “Let’s go! We can still catch them!”

Everyone but Astrid followed him in the opposite direction. They had gone a few hundred feet before they realized she wasn’t with them. They turned back around, finding her still attacking Ryker’s ship.

“What is she doing?!” Snotlout hollered to them.

“No idea!” Heather shouted back. “Astrid! Let’s go!”

“No!” Hiccup realized. “She’s right! Ryker is trying to divert us by making it look like he was a diversion! We need to back Astrid up!”

They flew back as fast as they could, immediately noticing a bloody wound in Stormfly’s wing.

“Pull up, Astrid!” he shouted to her. “We’ll cover you!”

“No! I’m too close!” Stormfly fired at the hull again, the blast perfect. The Eruptadon broke loose, roaring angrily.

The other Rider’s cheered, but Hiccup warily watched Ryker pulled out a wooden contraption, and proceed to blow on it. He recognized the sound it produced immediately.

“It’s a Death Song call! Get out of here!”

Stormfly couldn’t fly fast enough. She was too close to the sound to avoid its affects. She turned around and flew toward the ship, Astrid struggling to keep her back. They watched in horror, helplessly hovering as time slipped into slow motion. A hunter released a barbed grappling hook and iron rope from the ship, and it hit Astrid squarely in the knee. The hook dug into her knee, and the rope suddenly tightened, yanking her from her dragon.

Her agonized scream woke Hiccup from the shock of what was happening, and forgetting about the Death Song call, he urged Toothless forward. Heather cut him off as Astrid landed in the water.

“There’s nothing we can do! It’s a trap! We can’t do anything with that Death Song call!”

“Get out of my way!” He shouted back, trying to pass her.

“No! They’ll just catch you too!”

The ship was turning to leave, dragging Astrid with it. “Move, Heather!”

“No!”

The ship wasn’t leaving. It was facing them…and crossing over the line which bound Astrid to the ship! They were going to drown her! “Move now, Heather, or so help me Thor, I will make you move!”

“Hiccup, we can get past that call! If the dragons hear it-”

“They can’t hear it from under water!” Hiccup dove underneath Heather and into the water, Toothless swimming as fast as he could toward her drifting body. Seconds passed like days. Hiccup’s lungs ached from the depth, but he refused to swim up. He could almost reach her arm…

A huge, stingray-like creature swam between them, cutting him off. By the time it was gone, so was Astrid.

Dragon and Rider broke the surface, gasping for much needed air. He didn’t bother to glance at the others before diving back in, swimming so far down his whole chest felt like it was going to explode. The two headed back to the surface for another gulp of air. He plunged back in, ignoring how painful it was. He had to find her. He had to.   
She couldn’t have gone much further down, could she? His ears and jaw were stabbed with pain, and the continual aching made it hard to even think. He needed air, he knew he needed air, but the time it took to get air could not be wasted.

Toothless suddenly stopped swimming down. Without thinking twice Hiccup broke away from his dragon, and went on, but only a few feet. The Night Fury grabbed him and dragged him up, Hiccup kicking and fighting to get away. His lungs hurt even more as the surface grew closer. A dizzy, light-headed feeling washed over him. A hand pulled him the rest of the way out of the water. He dragged in another breath and tried to dive back in, but again, Heather got in his way.

“Hiccup, stop!” She caught hold of his arm, and made him look at her. “You can’t swim down there! Your lungs can’t take that pressure!”

“They’ll have to,” he told her determinedly, attempting to enter water again, but Snotlout pulled him back.

“Hiccup, you aren’t going to find her. I saw a Wave Racer. Those things are like sharks, they smell blood and come for…for food. She isn’t down there.”

The truth of what Heather was saying began to set in, and he stopped struggling against his cousin.  
  
“If she was down there she would have surfaced, Hiccup. Bodies float. You know that. You won’t find her.”

“Dead bodies float, Heather. Not living ones. She’s down there.”

“Astrid’s d-” Heather stopped herself, realizing that Hiccup understood what she was about to say, he simply wouldn’t accept it. She didn’t want him to hear that truth from her. “Astrid knew what she was doing. You won’t find her down there. She…she was probably dragged with the ship.”

“Her boots surfaced,” Snotlout but in. “I bet she swam back to the surface, climbed on the ship, kicked Ryker’s butt, and is sailing back to meet us right now.”

Hiccup dropped his gaze, wrenched out of Snotlout’s grasp and climbed onto his dragon. He flew low to grab Astrid’s boots. Ryker must have stopped with the Death Song call, as Stormfly and the Eruptadon were still with them.

He hardly cared. He had lost Astrid. He had almost lost her plenty on times, but this time he really did. He knew what Heather had decided not to say. He knew what Wave Racers did. He knew that now he could only keep his promise and return the Eruptadon to Mala.  
So he did. The Queen solemnly thanked him, and vowed that they would always be an Ally of Berk. Her village had suffered much from the volcano, and many were injured, but they were safe for now.

The Dragon Riders left, Stormfly reluctantly following them, as if wondering why they had left Astrid behind. No one could miss how Hiccup wordlessly retired to his hut when they made it home, never once giving orders as to what was to be done.

Heather couldn’t be sure, but on the way to her own hut, she thought she heard muffled crying coming from his dark room. She continued on her way, collapsing on her bed and trying to stifle her own sobs with a pillow. They had all lost a friend, a best friend, in some cases, and tears would be shed for her.


	2. Chapter 2

“May Valhalla greet you with grand Celebration, and honor you as the great warrior we knew you to be. You have earned your place with the Valkyries, and who would we be to keep you from it? May your courage, friendship, and devotion live forever, as will your memory.”

Stoick’s funeral words came to an end, and the fiery arrows were released. The flames hit the small ship, containing only Astrid’s boots and one of her axes. They had gone back to see if a body had surfaced, but they could only find driftwood from the battle the day before. So without a body to burn, they gave Astrid the best funeral they could manage.

Dustin and Gail--Astrid’s parents, Stoick, and Gobber had come to the Edge for the funeral, and while everyone greeted each other with smiles, no one was lighthearted. Dustin had never liked Hiccup, and he clearly thought that the young man had something to do with his daughter’s death. It didn’t help the fact that Hiccup already blamed himself for what happened, no matter what anyone told him.

He stood off by himself as everyone watched the growing flames, thankful that no one bothered to speak to him.

“How are you doing?”

Hiccup glanced up, surprised to find Gail beside him. “Shouldn’t I be asking you?” he asked in return, the sentence lacking the natural humor it should have had.

“I suppose so.” Gail smiled weakly. “But I asked you first.”

Hiccup shrugged. “I’m fine, I guess. I just wish there was something I could have done.”

“You did everything you could. I know my husband think that you are responsible for putting her in the situation, but you must understand, Hiccup. Ever since Astrid was a baby, she was a bit of a dare-devil. We always worried for her safety. Dustin blames himself for anything that happens to her. Especially since Finn’s death. He’s just looking for some way to ease the pain, and I guess blaming you is how he is accomplishing that. But it is not your fault.”

Hiccup gave her a small smile. “Thank you, but it is my fault. I was responsible for her safety. You have every right to be angry with me. I lost your daughter.”

Tears filled Gail’s eyes. “No. We all lost her. No one can stop the inevitable.” She suddenly threw her arms around him, as if her statement had been said more to herself.

Hiccup was a little stunned, but allowed the woman to cry on him. She pulled back, keeping a hand on his shoulder, and looking him straight in the eyes. “My daughter said you were her best friend,” she started, smiling a little. “I hope you know that.”

Hiccup smiled and nodded. He did know. Astrid often told him that. Just one more thing he would miss about her. Gail hugged him again, and left as quickly as she had come.

The sorrowful group dispersed, and only Hiccup, Toothless, and Stormfly remained. The Nadder lay at the edge of the cliff, her intelligent eyes scanning the glowing horizon for her rider. She despondently plopped her head down on the ground, giving a low moan.

It struck Hiccup that the dragons would take the loss ashard as they would, Stormfly in particular. Astrid had anunbreakable bond with her dragon; only death could sever it. Who would have thought it would?

Guilt suddenly washed through his stomach, leaving him sick. Why couldn’t it have been him instead? If he had just covered her fire, if he hadn’t fallen for Viggo’s trap in the first place, she might be here now.

Sorrow and grief tore at his heart, determined to rip it out and shatter it into a million pieces. The emotions brought a physical ache in his chest, and strangely left him unable to cry. He should cry; he was supposed to cry when something terrible happened. He just couldn’t.

There weren’t any tears. There should be, but there weren’t. Instead there were a thousand emotions tumbling around inside him, each one fighting to take control of him. Sadness, despair, shock, anger; they crashed through him like the stormy waves on the rocks below him.  
Hiccup’s empty gaze turned to the waves, watching as they relentlessly battered the lonely sea stacks. Those stacks reminded him of himself—alone, bombarded from every direction, and still having to stand. Sure, he had his friends to help him, but to be honest, the twins and Snotlout caused half of his problems.

To be honest, he was tired, sick and tired, of the problems. It seemed that anytime he solved one, two more showed up to take its place. There were problems with his friends, problems with the dragons, problems with Viggo.

He was a crumbling sea stack surrounded by an ocean of problems, and now a crucial piece of his foundation had broken away. Astrid was his rock, his base, the support that kept him standing. Now that she was gone, it was only a matter of time before the unyielding waves collapsed him.

The sun dipped below the horizon, and Hiccup left the cliffs, his head hanging. Astrid parents had asked him to pack up her things and bring them back to Berk. He might as well start now, before his life crumbled even more.

The journey to her hut was strangely exhausting. By the time Hiccup reached it, he wanted nothing more to curl up in bed and sleep, but he was already there, so he opened the door and stepped inside.

Memories hit him in full force, and the room all but literally came alive as his all but relived moments he thought he had forgotten.

~

_Astrid sat on her bed, leaned up against the backboard and hugging her knees. Hiccup resumed his place sitting next to her, and immediately noticed how flushed she was. He placed the back of his hand on her forehead, and sighed heavily. Her fever was most definitely higher. Drifting in the ocean all day had dehydrated her, leaving her feverish and unable to keep any fluid down._

_  
“Are you still doing okay?” he asked, rubbing her arm._

_Astrid stared at him for a moment, her blue eyes brimming with tears. “I wanna go home,” she finally whimpered, leaning forward and practically falling into Hiccup’s arms._

_~_

_“Okay, I’ll admit it,” Astrid said, glancing down then back up at the clouds at her fingertips. “This is pretty cool. It’s…amazing. He’s amazing.” She reached forward and stroked Toothless. The look in her eyes was breathtaking. The sky was reflected in her sapphire eyes, and her smile made the image sparkle._

_She was right. This was amazing._

_~_

_Hiccup sat down above her head and began to undo her braid so he could play with her hair. He had recently found that particular weakness, but she didn’t have to know it was one of his as well._

_Within a few minutes, Astrid was beginning to stir. She finally opened her eyes and smiled up at him._

_“I must say,” she said quietly. “This is the most wonderful way to wake up.”_

_~_

_“Please, Astrid. Don’t cry. Everything’s going to be okay.” He was right. She didn’t care. Of course, out of all the times one should be allowed to cry, this had to be number one, but she was practically killing herself. . . An idea hit him. It was crazy and stupid, but Astrid was too weak to punch him for it._

_“Please, Kaerasta,” he whispered in her ear, “Please don’t cry.”_

_~_

_“Why didn’t you?”_

_The question made him wonder. Why hadn’t he killed Toothless? “I don’t know. I couldn’t.”_

_“That’s not an answer.”_

_“W-why is this so important to you all of a sudden?!”_

_“Because I want to remember what you say, right now.”_

_Why hadn’t he? “Oh, for the love of- I was a coward! I was weak! I wouldn’t kill a dragon!”_

_“You said ‘wouldn’t’ that time.”_

_Why did she have to be this way? “Well, whatever, I wouldn’t! Three hundred years, and I’m the first Viking who wouldn’t kill a dragon.”_

_There was a pause. Hiccup could see her mind turning, deciding what to say to him. Perhaps she would scold him for the obvious failure—call him a useless Viking. But what could she say that would make any difference now?_

_“First to ride one, though.”_

_~_

_She scowled at him, her eyebrows growing close. He could see the annoyance in her eyes. Healthy color had crept into her cheeks, and her lips were full and pink again. You couldn’t even tell she had just been sick with the Scourge of Odin. He had been so close to losing her today, and yet here she was. His smirk faded as he realized he could be flying home without her now; he could have burned her funeral ship._

_Hiccup realized then that there was a chance he wouldn’t have her tomorrow. He could wake up, and she might be gone forever. He realized then that he didn’t have the rest of his life with her, he might only have today._

_And overwhelming desire to kiss her rushed through him, and since he might not have the chance tomorrow, he did._

_~_

_Astrid pulled herself to her feet, as if to prove how “fine” she was. “Come on, I told you guys. I’m-” she stopped short, her eyes slowly closing. Her knees gave out, and she started to fall backwards._

_“Astrid!” Hiccup shouted, dashing in front of the others to catch her before she hit the hard bed._

_Her eyes met his as she collapsed into his arms. “I’m fine,” she finished, mostly to him. A painful cough gripped her again, thankfully not lasting as long. It seemed to steal just as much of her strength, judging by how limp her feverish body was._

_It was then that Hiccup really understood how dire the situation was. Astrid was sick. Very sick. She had the Scourge of Odin, and at the present, there wasn’t anything he could do about it. And unless he did something about it, she would die._

_The thought of losing Astrid nearly brought tears. She was his best friend. It was Astrid who was always there for him, there to comfort him, to tell him to get his head out of the clouds, to talk out his problems. He couldn’t lose her. He wouldn’t._

_~_

He had.

He had lost Astrid.

It finally began to sink in. Astrid was gone forever. He was never going to see her again. All he had left were those memories, and he would never have another chance to make more. She wasn’t coming back.

Oh, when he got his hands on Ryker and Viggo! He would make those jerks pay! They would pay for taking Astrid away from him, for killing his best friend, the only one who’d even remotely stood up for him when he was younger. Now she was dead, and they were responsible.

In a sudden flood of anger and slammed his fist into the wall with a furious roar. The impact rattled the shelf, and several items went flying. He stared blankly at the shelf, noticing a small leather cord dangling over the edge. Curious, he pulled on it, and the cord came easily.

The ends of the cord were tied together, and a flat stone was attached forming a necklace. His eyes grew wide. Could it really be that she still had this? He turned the stone over in his palm. The etched design had chipped a little, but it was most definitely the same necklace.

He had given it to her ten years ago, almost eleven now, when her older brother Finn died. She had thrown it into the creek, claiming she “didn’t want his stupid necklace” but here it was. She must have fished it out, because it was the same one.

She had kept the necklace. Not only that, she kept it with her. After all the other gifts he’d given her, she still had this amateur stone necklace that was chipping at the edges and flawed in design. Last year for Snoggletog he had given her a necklace with a jeweled Nadder pendant, but she still kept this one. She had gone back and looked for it.

Hiccup dropped to his knees, realizing how special it must have actually been. If only she knew how special she was to him. Tears welled up in his eyes as he stared at the necklace in his palm. A few finally slipped out and splashed onto the stone, leaving it darker in certain places. More and more tears gatheredas he glanced around her room, suddenly realizing how much of his handiwork was stored around her hut.

“I’m sorry, Astrid,” he choked out. “You should be here…I’m sorry, I wish I could do something more to…” He couldn’t finish. The tears that refused to fall earlier now refused to stay back, and he crumpled against the wall, sobbing. The aching sorrow in his chest brought more grief and tears.

Though still crying, his head began to nod in exhaustion, sohe dragged himself to his feet and collapsed onto Astrid’s bed. He clutched the necklace to his chest, the room slowly dimming as his lantern flickered out, and he slowly sobbed himself to sleep.

. . .

Sound.

Sound was the only thing to penetrate her dark world. Sound—it was muddled, quiet, but it was there. And now…now there was pain, too. Her knee hurt. Badly.

She slowly because aware of sand against her cheek, and the steady, lulling motion of water moving her up and down. She had no idea where she was, but everything was slowly…fading away…back…into…nothing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I know. I can't end it there. Well, guess what, I did. But the full series is completed! Just go to my profile, click on "Series" and then "Race to the Edge." Voila! You now have access to all 13 books!
> 
> Feel free to leave kudos, and tell me your thoughts in the comments!


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